Environmentally friendly production of thiobencarb (Bolero)

S-Alkyl thiocarbamates are commercially available and widely used for their herbicidal properties. Despite the numerous methods for synthesizing these compounds, most employ toxic reagents that are harmful to the environment. Within we report a novel efficient one-pot process for the formation of thiobencarb employing readily available reagents. This method makes use of a trichloroacetyl chloride adduct and requires no complex starting materials. Furthermore, this process is efficient, proceeds in high yields, and utilizes several recyclable reagents.     

Examining the uncertain origin and management role of martens on Prince of Wales Island,Alaska

Conservation biologists are generally united in efforts to curtail the spread of non‐native species globally. However, the colonization history of a species is not always certain, and whether a species is considered non‐native or native depends on the conservation benchmark. Such ambiguities have led to inconsistent management. Within the Tongass National Forest of Alaska, the status of American marten (Martes americana) on the largest, most biologically diverse and deforested island, Prince of Wales (POW), is unclear. Ten martens were released to POW in the early 1930s, and it was generally believed to be the founding event, although this has been questioned. The uncertainty surrounding when and how martens colonized POW complicates management, especially because martens were selected as a design species for the Tongass. To explore the history of martens of POW we reviewed other plausible routes of colonization; genetically and isotopically analyzed putative marten fossils deposited in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene to verify marten occupancy of POW; and used contemporary genetic data from martens on POW and the mainland in coalescent simulations to identify the probable source of the present‐day marten population on POW. We found evidence for multiple routes of colonization by forest‐associated mammals beginning in the Holocene, which were likely used by American martens to naturally colonize POW. Although we cannot rule out human‐assisted movement of martens by Alaskan Natives or fur trappers, we suggest that martens be managed for persistence on POW. More generally, our findings illustrate the difficulty of labeling species as non‐native or native, even when genetic and paleo‐ecological data are available, and support the notion that community resilience or species invasiveness should be prioritized when making management decisions rather than more subjective and less certain conservation benchmarks.     

A new training specification for workplace health promotion

The field of workplace health promotion has seen developments of concepts, practice and interest in recent years. However, recent EC wide research has pointed to problems which constrain its development. These include a lack of awareness amongst the major players who are in a position to implement workplace health promotion, difficulties in transmitting the concept of and organising genuine inter-disciplinary approaches to workplace health promotion, and a lack of training courses in the area.This paper describes a project to develop a training specification for workplace health promotion targeted at a range of professional and non-professional groups. These include occupational physicians and nurses, safety engineers, personnel managers, health and safety representatives and others.The project has developed a modular training specification — each trainee group can undertake all modules to an appropriate level of detail. It focuses on two broad areas — the health promotion process and the roles necessary to support that process. The first area defines an idealised health promotion process, which has been divided into 7 phases, while the second area outlines 6 principal roles in relation to interacting with that process. Future work will see the implementation of the training specification in a number of test sites.